trapezeartist

Perhaps you didn’t have enough free play in the system. When I got my bike and rode it for the first time I made a complete t*t of myself by falling off in the car park in front of a crowd of people. Having come from cars and karts where I was obsessive about having a short travel and a rock-hard pedal, I over-adjusted it, and it “pumped up” and locked. The simple solution was to back off the lever adjustment a touch. Trials bike brakes are so powerful that they deliver a nice hard feel without too much fiddling.

A rigid enforcement of no-stop is just as subjective and difficult to judge as the present not-much-of-a-stop. At the Southern Experts a few months ago we were told to be very strict on no-stop. We dished out a lot of 5s. Some riders were most unhappy and I generally sympathised with them: it seemed unfair to apply the same penalty for a momentary feet-up hesitation as for a total failure. I’m not saying I know the solution; just that we haven’t found it yet.

I don’t know the standard TRS gearing but if you’re right you are geared down about 5%. It will be easier to get through the awkward bits without slipping the clutch but will run out of revs a bit sooner. I would be inclined to go back to standard. Chains don’t like going around small sprockets so a change from 9 teeth to 10 will significantly improve chain and sprocket life.

My daughter and I went through the McDonald's driveway window and I gave the cashier a £5 note. Our total was £4.25, so I also handed her 25p. She said, 'You gave me too much money.' I said, 'Yes I know, but this way you can just give me a pound coin back.' She sighed and went to get the manager who asked me to repeat my request. I did so, and he handed me back the 25p, and said 'We're sorry but we don’t do that kind of thing.' The cashier then proceeded to give me back 75p in change. Do not confuse the people at MacD's. We had to have the garage door repaired. The repairman told us that one of our problems was that we did not have a 'large' enough motor on the opener. I thought for a minute, and said that we had the largest one made at that time, a 1/2 horsepower. He shook his head and said, 'You need a 1/4 horsepower.' I responded that 1/2 was larger than 1/4 and he said, 'NOOO, it's not. Four is larger than two.' We haven't used that repairman since... I live in a semi rural area. We recently had a new neighbour call the local council office to request the removal of the DEER CROSSING sign on our road. The reason: 'Too many deers are being hit by cars out here! I don't think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore.' My daughter went to a Mexican fast food and ordered a taco. She asked the person behind the counter for 'minimal lettuce.' He said he was sorry, but they only had iceberg lettuce. I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked, 'Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?' To which I replied, 'If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?' He smiled knowingly and nodded, 'That's why we ask.' The pedestrian light on the corner beeps when it's safe to cross the street. I was crossing with an 'intellectually challenged' colleague of mine. She asked if I knew what the beeper was for. I explained that it signals blind people when the light is red. Appalled, she responded, 'What on earth are blind people doing driving?!' And she is a government employee..... When my husband and I arrived at a car dealership to pick up our car after a service, we were told the keys had been locked in it. We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver’s side door. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked. ‘Hey,' I announced to the technician, 'Its open!' His reply, 'I know. I already did that side.' STAY ALERT! They walk among us, they breed, and they vote…....

I’m torn between 1 and 5 on the first video. I’m not familiar with FIM marking guidelines (somewhat irrelevant in my world) so I would follow the observers briefing if it was my call. I can’t see how the second one can be anything but a 5.

One small note of caution. I have seen it said that modern tyres (Michelin/IRC/Dunlop) last about 150 miles on the road. That’s not far if you’re planning on pottering to work on you TLR200. Of course running higher pressures should improve life somewhat. Pirelli’s are supposed to be more durable but not competitive.

Been there, done that, no tee-shirt but a few bumps and bruises. Stick at it, go at your own pace, and soon you’ll be wondering whatever the fuss was about.

Super costs about 15p per litre more. And you use 1.5 to 2 litres in a trial. I just throw in the Super to play safe even though it’s probably not needed.

I recorded the programme on 1 June. The caption said it was World Trials. in reality it was some bloke with one leg walking up mountains. Disappointed.

Nice looking trailer!

For gross and unladen weight, make up some numbers that seem reasonable. If it’s a fairly light trailer, put one wheel on your bathroom scales (when SWMBO is not at home!), double it and add a little bit for the noseload and that’s your unladen weight. Now add on your bike weight and round up to the next 50kg. That’s your gross weight. Now make a sticker with those numbers and put it on the trailer. If it’s a tidy looking trailer that doesn’t look like it might be unroadworthy, no-one is going to bother you.

I so nearly made the same mistake myself last week. I was just a bit luckier than you. I’m sure you’ll find a suitable ball with no problem. The spring is about the same diameter as a ballpoint pen, but much stronger.

I’ve no idea whether ‘gasoline’ is a brand name but I’m pretty sure ‘petrol’ is not. It’s an abbreviation of ‘petroleum spirit’. On a serious note, ‘gas’ is ambiguous and a potential source of confusion. ‘Petrol’ is not. Or on a lighter note, I just like winding up the colonials.?

Yes. All checked a couple of months ago and no rework necessary.

We all know that Americans call petrol “gas”. So what do they call gas? You know, the stuff you cook with, or indeed any element or compound in a gaseous state.

I use a Citroen Berlingo which is basically the same car as a Doblo. No wheelchair conversion. The bike goes in nicely with the back seats removed.

Great disappointment at today’s trial: the drag is back! After the first few sections I realised I had two bite points. One with the lever against the grip and one with my finger at nearly full stretch. After waiting to go into a section, first application of the clutch was the former. Any further slipping of the clutch and it was the latter. Next section: back to square one. For this trial I developed a technique of pausing and slipping the clutch just before the Begins card, so I could get the consistent full-stretch bite point all through the section. This was much better but it’s still far from ideal. I’m still scratching my head about what to do next. Another change of oil? Aftermarket clutch plates?

Exactly like mine then, Dan. My stand was a bit wobbly. When I took off the swinging arm and then removed the stand, one of the helicoils had partly come out so was preventing the stand seating properly. My local mechanic tried to replace the helicoil but the new coil wouldn’t go in properly. I drilled through the swinging arm and used a M8 nut and bolt.

Agreed. The long side has the ball-end on it so you end up having to apply torque with the short side (by bodging on a bit of tube, or mole grips, or something). Not nice. Dan, did you find the threads had helicoils in them? I'm not sure if Beta put them in as standard, or whether mine has already been repaired before I got it.

I can’t disagree with that. I had to do the job on the bench with the swinging arm removed. And checking the fixings is one of the items on the Beta UK SSDT preparation list. It might be possible to access them with a T-handle allen key, but I don’t have one the right size.

The previous owner seemed to have something of a passion for ground clearance.?

The 3mm washer worked perfectly and I now have play-free steering.

I couldn’t get hold of any Nanotrans locally so I put in some 10W40 motorcycle gearbox oil blended with 20% ATF. It worked a treat and the clutch is much better. Btw, I noticed on a Jim Snell video that he advises avoiding synthetic oils in the gearbox as they are too “clingy” and cause clutch drag. It seems a reasonable hypothesis.

Seems a bit harsh, Dan. I would agree it’s a bit agricultural, but it works. I’ve just had to rework mine a bit. It moved about slightly on the swinging arm. When I took it all off I found a loose helicoil on one of the fixings. (Do Beta fit helicoils as standard or has mine already had a repair?) We couldn’t get a new helicoil to go in right so I drilled through and used a nut and bolt.

The new bearings are in ?. Using a big bolt and various combinations of sockets and washers to make an insertion tool. I followed pindie’s advice with the copper slip grease. It took a pretty heavy force on the spanner to work them in. It’s much easier on insertion though because the bearings are pushed in one at a time from each side. Attempting to push them out requires both bearings to be moved at once.